Chapter 58: The Grand Duke’s Daughter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: The Grand Duke’s Daughter
“Will you promise me just one thing?”
Just before Aiden left for Lady Liza Aslan’s territory, Grand Duke Aslan stopped him.
“…Unlike Damian, Liza is somewhat sensible. Please go easy on her.”
“…If she’s sensible, doesn’t that mean I won’t have to beat her up?”
“She’s not that sensible.”
“…”
It seemed parents were never entirely satisfied with their children.
Mulling over that thought, Aiden nodded.
“I’ll hold back a bit.”
Grand Duke Aslan nodded in satisfaction. In truth, however, holding back was a necessary choice for Aiden as well.
— Side Quest
▶ Protect the target, ‘Liza Aslan’!
▶ Upon quest success, affinity with several individuals will greatly increase!
“…”
Out of nowhere, this system window had popped up right before his eyes.
Just what kind of situation is she in right now…?
Aiden tilted his head.
Still, having experienced this multiple times, he had naturally learned a thing or two. Though he didn’t know the exact details, a quest to protect someone meant things were definitely taking a turn for the worse.
In that case, his course of action was clear.
“…”
Stroking his chin as he glared at the window, Aiden cocked his head to the side.
“—Hmm.”
…Certainly.
Rushing in without making any ‘preparations’ would be incredibly foolish.
* * *
The members of the Aslan Grand Ducal House were all renowned martial artists with lofty reputations.
Naturally, Grand Duke Aslan would click his tongue in disapproval, considering both Damian and Liza Aslan to be empty husks compared to their public standing. But it was also clear that those reputations weren’t entirely baseless.
The conversation currently taking place in Liza Aslan’s office proved as much.
“I decline, Administrative Minister.”
Had Aiden heard her resolute answer, his evaluation of her would have shot through the roof. After all, anyone hostile to Rad Ilja Barphon satisfied a very simple formula: they were Aiden’s ally.
Of course, she hadn’t adopted such a stern attitude without good reason.
Liza glared at her guest with utter exasperation. The Imperial Prince’s right-hand man, the Administrative Minister. Anyone who knew him unanimously described him as insidious, and the words coming out of his mouth were perfectly consistent with that reputation.
“In order to gain a comparative advantage over your elder brother in the struggle for succession, shouldn’t your soldiers become stronger? Now is not the time to be picky about your methods.”
“…”
“I imagine Young Master Damian is already considering military force against you as a very real option, wouldn’t you say?”
Under ordinary circumstances, she might have agreed. By nature, Liza was an ambitious woman second only to her brother—someone who would take whatever she needed to achieve her goals.
However, even she had a bottom line she refused to cross.
Running a hand through her curly blonde hair, Liza roughly tossed a reagent vial onto the table. It was the item the Administrative Minister had just handed her, telling her to ‘give it a try.’
“A Demonic Beast Transformation Potion? Are you out of your mind, offering me such a thing?”
“And yet, it is a product with guaranteed results.”
Sparks flew from Liza’s eyes at his unhesitating response.
Demonic Energy itself was a lethal poison to all living beings. That conclusion was obvious when one considered why the Void Zone was strictly off-limits. Even if the effects were guaranteed as this bastard claimed, any soldier administered with it would inevitably suffer horrific side effects.
Everyone living in the Aslan Territory knew this. Those exposed to Demonic Energy for extended periods, or those ‘infected’ by the blood of demonic beasts, inevitably underwent physical mutations. Their minds would warp, turning them into ferocious monsters.
And yet, he wanted her to inject a demonic beast-related substance directly into her soldiers’ bodies?
“Of course I covet the position of Grand Duke. But inject Demonic Energy into my soldiers? You’re telling them to die!”
No matter how desperate she was, Liza was a commander responsible for her people. She possessed at least a shred of conscience.
“Dawn is coming, Lady Liza.”
The man whispering in that sly voice clearly didn’t care about such trivialities.
“…”
“The Imperial Capital will soon be plunged into chaos. Will you still be able to say the same things then?”
“…You…”
“Of course, this is a time when the Imperial Prince and I must lay low… but even so, this is no mere ‘proposal for cooperation.’” The Administrative Minister continued with that same breezy smile. “…Every person in the Empire will soon have to choose a side. His Highness the Imperial Prince, or the opposition. I am giving you the opportunity to attach yourself to the ‘winning side’ right now.”
“…”
Liza was rendered speechless for a moment. It was just too utterly absurd.
“You were crushed not long ago while trying to frame Lionheart, yet your confidence remains sky-high. Do you think I’m unaware of your current situation?”
“Well now. It’s not as though we’re saying these things without any basis.”
…To be sure, his demeanor was far too confident for someone backed into a corner. It was as if he had a trump card to fall back on.
Regardless, the Administrative Minister’s proposal was something she would never accept.
“…Get out. This is your last warning. Otherwise, I will cut you down for real,” Liza growled.
Seeing her response, Rad shrugged and gathered the reagent vial.
“If you put it that way, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
He at least seemed willing to back off. Liza relaxed the tension around her eyes, slightly softening her fierce demeanor. It seemed things might be settled peacefully after all.
—If only Rad hadn’t immediately drawn forth ‘black mana’ around his body.
“…You, what—!”
Liza drew her sword instantly, letting out a shout that bordered on a scream. As someone from the duchy bordering the Demon Race and the Fragment of the Demon God, she recognized it better than anyone.
“I succeeded in pulling over a fairly useful fellow from beyond the Void Zone this time. This year’s Night of the Hunt promises to be quite entertaining, but separate from that, I have a promise to His Highness the Imperial Prince to keep.”
The thing before her eyes was no longer human.
Not human, but ‘something’ akin to a demon…!
“Therefore, since that man’s party happens to be nearby, I need to gather some ‘combat data’ on this potion so I can use it in the Imperial Capital later…”
In the next moment.
“…Would Lady Liza be so kind as to personally provide it for me?”
Rad’s eyes glowed red.
* * *
“The world is going wrong somehow.”
Noel mumbled those words with the weary tone of someone who had lived through it all.
If someone was planning to turn the Young Master’s territory upside down during the day, only to head to the Grand Duke’s Daughter’s territory at night to fold it in half, anyone would likely react similarly.
…It won’t be as easy as Young Master Damian.
Naturally, the people of the Aslan Grand Ducal House were all renowned martial artists. But strictly speaking, Liza, the Grand Duke’s Daughter, enjoyed far more popularity and respect than Damian, the Grand Duke’s Son. In fact, it was an accepted belief among the nobility that Damian’s frequent attempts to keep Liza in check stemmed from a deep-seated inferiority complex.
And yet, they were on their way to strike her territory right now.
To make matters worse, Aiden—the man who had orchestrated this entire situation—had ducked out under the guise of ‘making preparations.’ He had left just her and Katya behind, a situation that only accelerated her sense of exhaustion.
“…”
And on top of that, what exactly was he making high-end talents like Lionheart and Deathwish do?
He had them meticulously deploying their supernatural abilities in a net-like grid across the area. They were scattering Noel’s Qi and Katya’s Divine Power as ‘invisibly’ as possible throughout the surroundings.
At such a faint level, it could exert almost no physical force. At best, even with Noel and Katya maintaining total concentration, they could only sense if someone passed through their perimeter. However, weaving a net that enveloped the entire territory required a massive amount of effort, even for the two of them.
…Tiring.
Only that sentiment leaked out.
“Why? A packed schedule is great.”
Of course, nothing in this world was absolute. Watching Katya hum cheerfully as she walked, Noel pressed her thumb hard against her temple. The woman looked utterly delighted simply because they were on their way to beat someone up…
Once again…
From start to finish, she and this woman had zero compatibility. Even just observing her from the side, their differences extended down to the most trivial tastes in food. They were complete opposites.
The only silver lining was that, when tied together by the common denominator named Aiden, Katya didn’t display any particularly strong aversion toward her. Normally, whenever Katya was brought along, Noel would fret over what trouble she might cause. But whenever that man asked her to do something, she became obedient. To an astonishing degree.
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she was an incredibly uncomfortable person to be around.
“By the way, there’s one thing I wanted to ask.”
“Pardon?”
“What is your actual relationship?”
“…”
Diving headfirst into such an incredibly sensitive question was hardly something Noel appreciated.
“…Why bring up such a question all of a sudden?”
“Oh, no reason. It just seems hard to believe you two are a normal married couple.”
“…”
“…Doesn’t it feel like you’re hiding a lot from each other?”
What made Katya even more difficult to deal with was that she wasn’t merely reckless; the gears in her head turned much faster than she let on.
“I’ve thought so for a while, but there’s something unnatural about you two. I keep getting the feeling you haven’t known each other for very long.”
“…”
“Is that engagement story really true?”
In the past, Noel probably would have changed the subject or brushed it off vaguely. Or perhaps it would have spiraled into an outright argument, just like before. Not only was the topic inherently awkward, but Katya’s eyes were currently brimming with suspicion—a situation Noel did not enjoy in the slightest.
“…”
However, instead of offering an answer, Noel kept her mouth firmly shut.
That was because…
…What are we?
The one who found it hardest to answer that question was undoubtedly herself.
Of course, they didn’t have a bad relationship. Nor were they distant strangers. Yet, was their relationship so grand that she could confidently answer such a question in front of Katya?
Her gaze drifted away. It almost looked as though she was trying to hold back her embarrassment.
“…”
However, when her eyes returned to Katya, they were filled with seriousness once again. Seeing Noel rest a hand on her scabbard, Katya narrowed her eyes.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll be honest with you. I don’t particularly like Your Highness.”
“What a coincidence. I feel the exact same way.”
It was a chillingly intense exchange, delivered without the slightest change in either of their expressions, but both Noel and Katya clearly felt nothing special about the situation.
“Still, I suppose we share at least one point of common ground.”
“Mm.”
The next instant, Noel’s hand lashed out like lightning.
The arc of her sword glinted coldly under the moonlight. Caught within that arc was ‘something’ creeping toward them through the darkness. Multiple limbs that could never belong to a human. A monster whose body was hideously mutated, warped, and mangled.
Right alongside the trajectory of that sword strike, Katya unleashed her Divine Power, striking the exact same target as if tailing Noel’s blade.
Struck simultaneously by the attacks of two individuals standing at the absolute pinnacle of supernatural ability users, the target shattered into pieces before it could even utter a scream of pain.
“…At least when fighting, we seem to work well in sync.”
“Yeah. I agree with that too.”
Perhaps it was a phenomenon born from the fact that they both had a common person they wanted to protect. With that thought, Noel sheathed her sword once more.
“The Night of the Hunt hasn’t even arrived yet… and demonic beasts are roaming around already? Just as expected of a territory bordering the Void Zone—”
Noel’s casual chatter cut off abruptly.
The demonic beast, which had taken the full brunt of both her and Katya’s simultaneous attacks, was staggering back to its feet.
“…What’s this? It’s pretty tough.”
Katya tilted her head as she spoke, but Noel’s gaze was fixed on a slightly different spot.
Within the form of the demonic beast rising from the ground… she caught sight of something strangely familiar.
Its outer form was undeniably that of a demonic beast. Its shaggy body, sprouting multiple legs like a spider, was by no means human.
However.
The ‘original form’ buried beneath that monstrous exterior…
The human figure panting heavily with reddened eyes…
It was a face Noel knew all too well.
“…Lady Liza?”
KIIIIEEEEAK—!!!!!
Instead of an answer, only a hideously distorted shriek pierced the night.